THE PRAIRIE HISTORIAN a magazine of folk history September, 1976, Vol. 6, Number 3, p. 8 THE PHILP FAMILY by Eleanor Hodge Thomas Philp was born in England probably in the late 1700's or early 1800's. His father's name was William Philp, and his mother's name is unknown. Thomas first came to Canada with a brother, James Rowe Philp in the 1800's. He then came into the United States and migrated westward into Ohio. Here he met and married Elizabeth Baltzell of Gallipolis, Ohio. (I have often heard my mother, Elsie Hodge tell the story that Elizabeth was looking out the window and happened to see Thomas, a stranger, walking past the house. She turned to a friend and said, "I'm going to marry that man." and She did.) Soon after their marriage they went to Kentucky and lived until 1839 when they came to Illinois and settled in Mt. Vernon, Jefferson County. After about 6 months the family moved to Bald Hill Township. In 1842 Joseph Fawkes of Kentucky made Thomas Philp his agent for a tract of land being the N. W. Quarter of Section one in Township 4, South of range 1 east containing 175.21 acres. Thomas signed the agreement to clear the land to make certain improvements such as having forty acres enclosed by a fence of which six acres would be an apple orchard. He was to build a two pen hewed log house, each room being eighteen feet long and sixteen feet wide with an eight foot passage in the middle of the said log house. He was also to build corn cribs and stables and as much more improvements as he thought fit on the land. The Philp family lived here until the spring of 1854, when they moved to Central City, Illinois. A daughter, Emma, died there with Cholera that same year. She was 16 years of age. Thomas died there in 1856 and his wife, Elizabeth, died in 1872. Besides being a farmer, Thomas was noted as a musician and furnished tunefulness for many interesting occasions. he could be practical also, and made all the shoes for the neighborhood. (Recently a friend told me this story. It seems that Thomas Philp had made shoes for nearly everyone to wear during the cold months of this particular year. However, Josiah H. Mannen (Joe), one of the nine children of Sidney S. and Eliza A. (Walton) Mannen, had not yet received his pair of shoes. He was hopping along barefoot behind the wagon one cold, frosty fall morning mumbling something to himself. When the wagon stopped he was overheard saying "I wish Pa was dead and Old Man Philp, too! I suppose Joe, eventually got his shoes.) Children of Thomas and Elizabeth (Baltzell) Philp were: Mary Eliza; twins, Margaret and Harriet; James Ware; Elizabeth Jane; Emma, and Corinna M. 1. Mary Eliza, oldest child of Thomas and Elizabeth Philp was born December 18, 1825 in Gallipolis, Ohio and died June 6, 1913 in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. She was married to Capt. Joseph Laur February 29,, 1844. Their children were: Charles T.; Benjamin M.; Laura (Baldridge); Hattie (Hayes) of California; James W. of Ina, Illinois; Mae (Murray); and Elizabeth (Lizzie Cleveland). Mary Eliza is buried at Knob Prairie Cemetery. 2. Margaret and Harriet, twins, were born March 6, 1829 in Kentucky. Margaret married Albert J. Weaver in 1853. Their children were: Sebern J. and Mina (Cherry). Albert died in 1857 and Margaret married William Nowland February 9, 1860. Their children were: Isaac Thomas Nowland; Harriet Ann (Shurtz); Henry Arthur who died in infancy; and Cora Olive (Elliston). Margaret died September 14, 1916 and is buried at Knob Prairie Cemetery. Harriet married Hosea Haynes and lived in Monroe County. Their children were: Charlie, Claude, Tom, Ernest, Henry and Cora (Hudson). 3. James Ware Philp, only son of Thomas And Elizabeth (Baltzell) Philp was born in Bracken County, Kentucky October 10, 1833. He came to Jefferson County with his parents, when six years old in 1839. He married to augusta Jane Kinne of Posey County, Indiana, April 6, 1856. He was a farmer. he served as Justice of the Peace, Township Trustee, and School Director. James was a Union soldier in the Civil war enlisting in the Thirty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry in October 1864, and was mustered out in June 1865. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Bentonville, North Carolina, but was exhanged at Richmond nine days later. he died November 5, 1891 and his wife, Augusta Kinne died February 24, 1907. Both are buried in the Gilbert Cemetery. Children of James Ware and Augusta (Kinne) Philp were: Anna Elizabeth born in 1857 and died May 27, 1861, age 4 years. Ida E. (Newell); Emma F. (Dodds); Charles T.; James Walter; Harry O.; Margaret (Maggie McMeen); and twin sister Mary who died at 2 years of age. Anne and Mary are buried int he Gilbert Cemetery. Ida E. was born July 5, 1859 and died August 17, 1934. On June 23, 1878 she was married to Ichabod Newell. Their children were Walter Raleigh, James Philp, and Elsie (Hodge). Ida is buried in Knob Prairie Cemetery. Emma Francis was born June 10, 1862 and died March 8, 1944. She was married to Wilburn Neal Dodds October 9, 1881. They had two sons, John and Harry. Emma is buried at Knob Prairie Cemetery. Charles Thomas Philp was born December 23, 1863. He died October 8, 1956. He married Merta Peck of Colorado. Their children, all living, are C. Verne, Selma (Waters), Elbert T., Harold, Dorothy (Fiscus), Margorie (Wilkinson), and Lois (Pearce). Thomas is buried in Grover, Colorado. James Walter Philp was born October 8, 1867 and died September 26, 1942. On November 23, 1892 he married Linnie E. Gilbert. Their children were Marie (Carson) and Merritt Philp. Walter is buried at Knob Prairie Cemetery. Dr. Harry O. Philp was born October 1, 1867 and died March 22, 1933. He married Daisy (Neal) in 1894. They had one son, Jimmy Philp. Harry is buried in Benton, Illinois. Margaret (Maggie McMeen) twin to Mary who died when two years old, was born in 1872 and died July 6, 1946. She married George McMeen. They had two daughters, Wanda (Herrick) and Melba (Donogh). The latter lives in Laguana Hills, California. Maggie is buried in Berkely, California. Note: (more is told about James Ware than the other children of Thomas and Elizabeth Philp. This is due to the fact that he was my great-grandfather and I had material on hand.) 4. Elizabeth Jane Philp was born September 6, 1836 in Germantown, Bracken County, Kentucky and died February 4, 1921. In 1855 she married Jackson McCullouigh. They had no children. In 1868 she married Smith T. Conlee. Their children were Raliegh and Clarence who died in infancy, Holley, Leon, and Molly (Patterson). Elizabeth is buried in Knob Prairie Cemetery. 5. Emma Philp born in 1838 and died in 1854 at Central City, Illinois with Cholera at age 16 years. 6. Corinna M. Philp, youngest of Thomas and Elizabeth Philp was born November 11, 1844 in Jefferson County, Illinois. She died September 26, 1915. She married to J. W. Hicks December 12, 1861. Their children: Zetta (Ames), Elmer, Eva (Horner) and Ethel (Martin). Corinna is buried in Knob Prairie Cemetery. |
MY NOTES ABOUT THIS ARTICLE: Eleanor Hodge, now deceased, was my Dad's second cousin and she was a noted Philp family historian. Some of her knowledge came from direct communication with her mother and probably grandmother. However, we now know that some of the information in this article is not correct and some has not been proven. Those passages have been underlined and are discussed below: The father of Thomas Philp was Robert Kemp Philp, not William, and his mother was Thomasin O'Brien. This is well-documented in "Restless Wind, A Philp Family Chronicle" by James D. Philp. The family legend is that he came to America via Canada. However, this has never been proven. Records of Canadian immigration were not kept until 1865, so this is difficult to prove or disprove. I have been corresponding with an ancestor of James Philp, Thomas' brother, and James died in England. Whether he actually came to America with Thomas and perhaps returned is unknown. However, he was married and had started a family in England by 1826 so it seems unlikely. Also, this ancestor has never seen James middle name to be Rowe. I believe that Eleanor got the name James Rowe from my sister, Nancy Bond, who found a James Rowe Philp whose father was William living in Canada about that time. Two sons of Thomas & Elizabeth, Thomas Baltzell Philp, (fifth child) and George Byron (second child) were omitted from the list of children in the article. Thmas died in 1863 shortly after being discharged from the Civil War and is buried in the Cyrus Gilbert Cemetery, Jefferson Co., Ill. with his parents. George died in Kentucky 9 months after his birth in 1827. Dr. Harry Oliver Philp was born in 1869,not 1867. Emily Francis Philp's tombstone states that she was 15 yrs 4 mo. at her death, rather than 16 years. She is buried in the Little Grove Cemetery west of Dix, Illinois |
Copyright 2003 Nareen Lake All Rights Reserved This information is NOT to be used for profit |
MEMORIES |
Click on the Generation below of my Philp Family to go there: |
